13-Card Rummy Rules

13-Card Rummy Tutorial: Cards, Rules, and Scoring

Online rummy is a popular card game that involves a strategic combination of luck and skill. This gripping card game will challenge your wits as you pick and drop cards to make your winning hand. One of the most popular variations of the game is 13-card rummy. Your objective when playing 13-card rummy is to make the right card combinations using your 13 cards. Read on to learn and understand the 13-card rummy rules that you need to know.

13-Card Rummy Card Combinations

Before playing the game, you must know the different card combinations that you need to meld to win. Melding refers to the process of positioning your cards into sets and sequences. Below is a more detailed explanation of these combinations.

Sequence

A sequence is a hand that contains three or more consecutive cards with the same suit. The game follows the standard order of the value cards – A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A. Notice that the value of an Ace card can be 1 or 10. You can use Ace to form a sequence that contains Ace of Hearts, Two of Hearts, and Three of Hearts (A♥-2♥-3♥), or Ace of Spades, King of Spades, and Queen of Spades (A♠-K-♠-Q♠).

Set

Another card combination that you need to meld is the set. A set is a hand consisting of three or four cards that have matching values. Note that each card must have different suits, like the image below.

Printed Joker and Wild Joker

Melding valid odds and sequences can be challenging. You can use joker cards to substitute any cards to match your set or sequence. In 13-card rummy, there are two types of Joker cards – Printed and Wild. The Printed Jokers are the regular set of Jokers that come with the standard playing cards. A single deck contains two Jokers. The Wild Jokers, on the other hand, are randomly picked during the beginning of the game. For instance, if a 10 of Clubs (10♣) is selected as the Wild Joker, then all 10s of Clubs will serve as the joker.

Note that a sequence that is formed using a Printed Joker or a Wild Joker is known as an impure sequence. To win the game, your 13 cards should contain at least two sequences, and one of which must be a pure sequence–a sequence hand that does not contain a joker.

13-Card Rummy Gameplay

Playing 13-card rummy is simple. You just have to be guided by the following simple rules to get a hang of the game:

The game is played with two decks of standard playing cards.

Expect to play with two to six players, but this may vary on the table size of the online casino you are playing in.

Each player takes a turn to be the dealer as the game progresses.

The game proper begins with 13 cards dealt for each player.

Then, a random card will be drawn to serve as the Wild Joker or the Joker card. You can use the card to form an impure sequence or a set.

The dealer will place the remaining cards face down to create the closed deck, and then he will draw the last card from the closed deck and place it face up to form an open deck.

The first non-dealer must pick a card either from the closed deck or the open deck, and discard one card from his hand.

From this point, the next player will also pick and discard his/her cards. Every discarded card should be placed on the open deck, face up. This process repeats until a player makes a valid declaration.

To make a valid declaration, a player should meld at least two sequences, one of which must be a pure sequence and the rest of the cards can be either sets or sequences.

The first player to meld valid sets and sequences will need to set his last drawn card on the finish slot and declare his hand to the opponents.

Each player has the option to drop the game if he thinks his cards cannot win. He can opt for either a first drop or a middle drop. The former means drop the game before making a move. A middle drop, on the other hand, refers to dropping the game after picking a card.

To familiarize yourself with the 13-card rummy’s gameplay, you can play it on betting sites that allow you to play games in Free Play mode. This way, you can know your way around the game without placing real-money bets.

13-Card Rummy Scoring

There are different formats of 13-card rummy. Among which, one popular version is the points rummy. In this game, every card holds certain points and an equivalent money value. The prize pool will be the sum of all the points from losing players multiplied by the equivalent money value.

If you win the game, you get zero points. But if you lose, you will receive losing points based on your remaining cards that do not form a set or sequence. If you fail to make at least one pure and one impure sequence, you will receive points according to all the cards in your hand. But if you have two types of sequences, you will receive points based on your other cards.

All face cards or high-value cards, which are Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks, each corresponds to 10 points. The remaining cards, which are cards 2 through 10, hold points to their card value. This means a 2 of Hearts card correspond to 2 points, a 10 of Clubs card holds 10 points, and so on.

Instances like the first drop, middle drop, and wrong declarations contribute to getting points as well. A wrong declaration is made when you declare an invalid declaration. First drop, middle drop, and wrong declarations correspond to 20, 40, and 80 points, respectively. The highest possible number of points you can get is 80 points. This means even if your score goes over the limit, say a 90, you will still get 80 points.

With this tutorial, you can now play 13-card rummy and get the chance to win big prizes. Test your luck by playing a round today. For more tutorials like this, check out HappiStar Tips – your go-to online learning hub for gaming tips, guides, and tutorials.